Floyd roundup targets 17

PRESTONSBURG – A Pulaski County resident accused of sending drugs to an inmate at a Floyd County prison was among 17 people sought during a drug roundup conducted Tuesday, December 20, by Operation UNITE.

Larry Ellison, 26, of Poplar Estates in Somerset, will be served with warrants for promoting contraband and second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. He is currently lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center on unrelated charges.

About eight months ago, the staff at Otter Creek Correctional Center in Wheelwright had received information that drugs were being sent to an inmate and asked UNITE detectives to investigate, said Dan Smoot, deputy director of UNITE.

The investigation led to the interception of a package containing Suboxone hidden inside materials mailed from Ellison to one of his relatives, said Smoot, adding it is believed that other types of drugs had been previously sent.

Tuesday’s roundup was the culmination of an eight-month undercover investigation into the illegal sale of drugs in Floyd County. Most of the pills purchased during that period were either Oxycodone or Hydrocodone pain medications.

Assisting UNITE detectives with the roundup were members of the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and Kentucky State Police.

• Donna Case, 51, Little Mud, Harold, one count each second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and third-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Finley Case, 45, Little Mud, Harold, one count each second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and third-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

• Ronald Gayheart, 59, Middle Branch, McDowell, one count first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, two counts possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and two counts possession of a shotgun by a convicted felon.